Russian financial regulators will study the experience of launching national cryptoassets

21.10.2020 / Payment system news

Financial regulators of the Russian Federation (the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Russia) began to study international experience in the development and launch of national digital currencies.

A report released last week by the Central Bank notes that the new version of money, while not replacing cash and electronic means, will significantly reduce costs, introduce various methods of transactions, and reduce dependence on the American currency.

The departments emphasized that the final decision on the launch of the digital ruble has not been made. Nevertheless, experts intend to thoroughly study the disadvantages of cryptoassets, for example, their inherent high volatility and the use of tokens for illegal purposes. If the development of the digital ruble is nevertheless approved, it is likely that the project will be guided by the norms of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), the department said.

We add that testing of the national currency is scheduled for the first half of next year (along with the country’s financial regulators, credit institutions will also take part in the work).